Chan 25 bidding for variety HD licence, unfazed by risk of disqualification
Despite the likelihood of disqualification, Surang Prempree's TV soap opera production house Chan 25 insists that it is going to apply for a variety channel in high definition (HD) licence.
“Chan 25 is going for a licence to run an HD variety channel no matter what happens,” Surachai Danaitangtrakul, legal adviser to Chan 25, confirmed yesterday.
Not only will Chan 25 be disqualified if it applies for the coming bid, but even Bangkok Broadcasting and Television (BBTV), which currently operates Channel 7, faces the risk as Surang is a major shareholder in both companies. Applications must be submitted to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on October 28-29.
Surang, 21st-richest in the country, was a former managing director of BBTV while her husband currently holds a 21-per-cent stake in BBTV. Meanwhile, Channel 7 is also going to submit its application seeking licences in the same categories as Chan 25.
Surachai said the company had received several letters from BBTV, seeking talks in a bid to prevent a clash of interests between the two parties.
He revealed that in BBTV’s first letter, it urged Chan 25 to drops its plan to apply for a digital variety HD channel licence. The second letter called on Surang to help pave the way for BBTV by selling some of her shares in BBTV to other shareholders so as to reduce her holding to less than 10 per cent.
Saran Wiruttamawong, member of BBTV’s board committee, declined to comment about this.
In the meantime, BBTV also sent two letters to the NBTC after it bought two bid documents to join the spectrum auction for commercial digital terrestrial TV licences. In both letters, BBTV affirmed that it had no link with Chan 25 in terms of business operations and management, according to a high-profile official at the NBTC.
In this regard, Natee Sukonrat, the chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said that all bidders must comply with the auction rules.
In the application, each bidder must legally guarantee that it has no relationship with other bidders for the same TV licence, in terms of cross-ownership. If the NBTC found any bidders violating this rule, they will be disqualified.
Meanwhile, the NBTC’s broadcasting panel yesterday held an open house for 33 companies that had bought a bid document last month. At the event, to which members of the press were not allowed, interested companies were able to clarify doubts on how to fill in the application forms and related restrictions.
After the session ended, Natee said that most of the participants asked him on how to manage ownership structure and shareholding to prevent violation of the NBTC rules.
He also added that the NBTC would hold a one-on-one consultation for those companies from October 9 to 11 and two more sessions if needed before the application submission process begins.
